Cooder Graw is a self-described "loud country" (

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

) band from

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

and

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...

, Texas. It is also the title of their second album. The group formed in 1998. It is perhaps most well known for the song "Llano Estacado" that was featured on a series of

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

commercials. Cooder Graw is somewhat of an anomaly in the music industry, in that its members' ages at its inception ranged from late-30s to early-50s. The band's singer, Matt Martindale, was the assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Gray County, Texas Gray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,227. The county seat is Pampa. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1902. is named for Peter W. Gray, a Confederate lawyer ...

prior to devoting his full attention to the band. Guitarist Kelly Turner was the manager of a manufacturing plant in

Slaton, Texas Slaton is a city in Lubbock County, Texas, United States founded by German immigrants. Slaton was the westernmost German settlement in Texas. The population was 6,121 at the 2010 census. Slaton is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistic ...

. The band was originally called "Coup de Grâce," but another band was already using that name, so the name was changed to a "Texas-version" of the original name. The band's debut album, '' Home at the Golden Light'', consisted of mostly

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

s and was self-produced by the band (though

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

credit is given to

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

, a

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

brother of Matt Martindale). It was released in 1998. The band's first national release, ''

Cooder Graw Cooder Graw is a self-described "loud country" (country music / alternative country) band from Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas. It is also the title of their second album. The group formed in 1998. It is perhaps most well known for the song "Llano E ...

'' was released in late 1999. Cooder Graw has toured extensively throughout

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, both headlining and opening for artists such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

and

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. The group also played at the premiere of the film ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film ''Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, E ...

'', which starred McConaughey. In 2006, Cooder Graw announced that they would cease performing together after the end of the year. Their last show was on December 31, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas. Lead singer Matt Martindale is still performing occasionally with his new band, The Matt Martindale Band. While Martindale, Turner, and Baker returned to careers outside of music, February 27, 2012 Cooder Graw announced a reunion tour would kick off April 28, 2012 at the Larry Joe Taylor Music Fest with more dates to follow.

Current

*Matt Martindale - acoustic guitar, vocals *Paul Baker - bass guitar *Kelly Turner - lead guitar *Kelly Test - drums, backing vocals *Carmen Acciaioli - fiddle, mandolin *Danny Crelin - pedal steel guitar

Former members

*Joe Ammons - drums, vocals *Jim Whisenhunt - pedal steel guitar *Nick Worley - fiddle, mandolin *Jon "Fish" Hunt - drums, backing vocals

Discography

Albums

*''Home at the Golden Light'' (1998) *''Cooder Graw'' (1999) *''Segundo'' (2000) *''Shifting Gears'' (2001) *''Live at Billy Bob's Texas'' (2002) *''Wake Up'' (2004) *''Big Sign'' (2009) *''Love to Live By'' (2016)

Music videos

*"Junior's in the Yard" *"Better Days" *"Love to Live By"

Compilations

*''Texas Road Trip'' - "18 Wheels of Loving" (2001) *''Brewed in Texas'' - "Whiskey Bent And Hellbound" (2002) *''Cow Hear This'' - "Better Days" (2002) *''Compadre's Texas Lovers'' - "Ain't Livin' Long Like This" (2003) *''Red River Tribute'' (tribute to

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

) - "Rainy Day Woman" (2003)

External links

{{Authority control Musical groups from Lubbock, Texas Country music groups from Texas Musicians from Amarillo, Texas